Hours later, when the party had finally dispersed—Garrett heading home , Dillon to the noisy, crowded guild barracks, and Elise returning to her pristine, quiet private quarters at Celestial Peak—the tiny apartment finally settled back into its usual, comforting stillness.
Lucy had passed out entirely on the mattress, one small hand resting protectively over her glowing star-shaped nightlight, the other loosely clutching her crumpled, graphite drawing of dragons and long-eared warriors. The sheer adrenaline of the summoning had utterly exhausted her, and she had barely managed to swap into her pajamas before collapsing into a deep, dreamless sleep.
